1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spare tire carrier of a motor vehicle and more particularly to improvements in a spare tire carrier of the type wherein a spare tire is lifted through the utilization of a wire rope.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Some of the conventional spare tire carriers of this type utilize a differential gear mechanism in order to reduce the winding force.
The different ail gear mechanism of this type is, in general, constructed such that when a lifted spare tire is to be lowered, a handle is turned manually or by power to reversely rotate a wire wheel which has wound up a wire rope, and thereby unwind the wire rope.
One problem with such a construction is that, in lowering the spare tire, a worker, being unaware of the completion of the unwinding of the wire rope, further turns the handle to drive the wire wheel and thereby winds the wire rope, which has been completely unwound, in the reverse direction.
To deal with this problem there has been proposed, for example, such a construction as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 53183/1988 wherein there is provided a slide stopper provided at a gateway of a wire rope in a housing movable along the path of movement of the wire rope at the gateway during winding and unwinding of the wire rope, the slide stopper having a through-hole through which the wire rope is windingly and unwindingly extended, and there is also provided a cutout formed on the outer periphery of a wire wheel and engageable with the slide stopper in a direction of unwinding when unwinding of the wire rope by the wire wheel is completed.
However, such a spare tire carrier involves the problem that when the slide stopper slides while being guided by a guide provided in the housing, it sometimes comes into mesh with the guide so that it does not slide up to the position of its engagement with the cutout on the wire wheel.
Another problem is that the slide stopper and the guide groove of the housing are apt to wear out due to sliding friction between the two and the manufacturing cost is increased.